


Kim Seokjin's Ongoing Guide to Being a (Hopefully) Good Parent

by MeltedIceAngel



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Adoption, Amazing Uncle Jungkook, Baby Huening Kai, Baby Kang Taehyun, Child Choi Beomgyu, Child Choi Soobin, Child Choi Yeonjun, Family, Family Angst, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Foster Care, Gen, He's trying so hard, Hurt/Comfort, Jeon Jungkook & Kim Taehyung | V are Best Friends, Kim Namjoon | RM is Whipped, M/M, Minor, Parenthood, Past Child Abuse, Protective Siblings, Seokjin is taking this day by day, Sweet Kim Seokjin | Jin, it always does, it gets worked out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltedIceAngel/pseuds/MeltedIceAngel
Summary: When Seokjin had been growing up, he was convinced that he would never make the mistakes his own parents made. All those portrayals of parents yelling at their kids, giving useless and mean punishments, not hearing them out when they had problems; no way, not him. He had years of watching others make mistakes on his side. He would be the best parent he could ever be to his future children.Speed up twenty years, with five little boys screaming in his ear while they simultaneously destroy the entire house, and he may occasionally make a few minor slip ups. Okay, maybe some major ones, too, but he always acknowledges when he's in the wrong and works to fix it.Sometimes he yells, sometimes he gets frustrated, sometimes he gives them a tablet just to get them away from him for half an hour. At the end of the day, the one thing he strives to do is learn from his mistakes, just like he expects his children to do. All they ask for is his love and guidance, and that is what he intends to give. One day at a time.(Ongoing series of one-shots)
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu & Kim Seokjin | Jin, Choi Soobin & Kim Seokjin | Jin, Choi Yeonjun & Kim Seokjin | Jin, Huening Kai & Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kang Taehyun & Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 83





	Kim Seokjin's Ongoing Guide to Being a (Hopefully) Good Parent

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: I just realized I mistakenly wrote Beomgyu and Taehyun as twins. They are not. It's Huening Kai and Taehyun that are twins. My bad!
> 
> I have been writing a sentence a day of Morphine for months now, so I decided to stop and give it a rest. This is the plot bunny that came to me next, and instead of shoving it away to save for Morphine later, I decided to turn it into its own series. Kim Seokjin making mistakes while parenting because every parent makes mistakes and we need to stop acting like you're either perfect or abusive. Believe it or not, there is a happy middle, and there is NOTHING wrong with making mistakes as long as you own up and work to fix them. To all the parents out there who find times in their hectic, busy days to read my stories: you are amazing. Just incredible. I can only come at this from being an 18 month-30 month daycare teacher for 2 years, which is still nothing in comparison. Incredible, amazing people parents are. They need more breaks!

**Yeonjun - Age 5**

_Realization 1: Yes, your eldest needs cuddles too. Lots of them. Just as much as the baby._

Yeonjun, as the eldest, was always expected to be well-behaved. He was the one who helped Seokjin set the table for dinner, picked up the living room with Namjoon, and helped Soobin with lessons before playing with the younger boys. All of this was to Seokjin’s chagrin. He didn’t want Yeonjun to be a parent before he’d even turned six, and the sight of him taking on so many of these challenges was disheartening. 

Seokjin warned Namjoon that Yeonjun was taking on too much from the get-go. Namjoon had sworn up and down that it was okay because his parents had been strict on him, and he’d turned out fine, but Seokjin could see the storm brewing long before it ever came. If it wasn’t for the pouted lips, stomping feet, and reluctance to share his day with Seokjin, it was the fact that Jeongguk had ratted the boy out. 

Yeonjun had been going to Jeongguk for comfort for weeks. Seokjin had thought that he’d at least been doing a good job knowing when Yeonjun was really on thin lines, but apparently, even that had been a catastrophic failure. Jeongguk said that Yeonjun would sneak into his studio and cuddle into his lap just for the Hell of it, and the only reason Jeongguk had finally come clean was the fact Yeonjun had been silently crying into his lap the last two days.

Seokjin had sworn that he would address this the very next morning, but then Taehyun had spilled an entire cup of milk on himself, Beomgyu had knocked over a bowl of cereal onto the floor, Huening Kai and Soobin had gotten into a fight that ended with bruises on both boys, and Yeonjun had not crossed Seokjin’s mind a single time throughout the entire ordeal. Seokjin had only even realized Yeonjun had vanished when Namjoon had pointed out that he wasn’t there.

Seokjin should’ve gone to find his son, but Huening Kai was wailing, and Soobin was angrily pouting in front of the couch. Namjoon had run off to try and make it on time for work, leaving Taehyun and Beomgyu wailing in their highchairs. Seokjin had to wipe away his tears as he tried to figure out what to do, and when Yeonjun slowly peeked around the corner to see the damage, all Seokjin could do was beg him for help.

“Yeonjun, can you please go help Soobin feel better?” Seokjin had begged, feeling instantly guilty. It wasn’t Yeonjun’s job to make Soobin feel better.

“I don’t want to,” Yeonjun whispered, and Seokjin bowed his head and prayed that Yeonjun would forgive him. 

“I need you to. Daddy has to help Huening Kai, Taehyun, and Beomgyu right now. Please, be a good big brother and go help Soobin,” Seokjin said, and Yeonjun’s little lip pouted out, and he crossed his arms protectively over himself. 

“What about me?” Yeonjun asked, his body hitching with suppressed emotion. Seokjin groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He could not deal with this right now. 

“You are big enough. Go help your brother,” Seokjin was fighting a losing battle. He knew when to pick his fights, and yet somehow, he was more worried about getting Yeonjun to help Soobin when he clearly wasn’t okay himself. 

“No!” Yeonjun shouted, and without thinking, Seokjin turned his gaze to Yeonjun. He didn’t try to train his face to look less frustrated, and the look that Yeonjun gave him was an intense reflection of that. 

“Kim Yeonjun, do not tell me no,” Seokjin needed to stop before he irreparably damaged the trust Yeonjun had for him. This was a long time coming, not just a singular incident. After all the horrible things Yeonjun had gone through before being adopted, Seokjin just had to add more and more to the bucket. 

“I don’t want to. He’s big too!” Yeonjun shouted, and Seokjin took a deep breath. It was hard to calm himself down with four children wailing in the background.

“Not as big as you,” Seokjin said. “Please, go help your brother.” 

“I said, no!” Yeonjun shouted, and something in Seokjin snapped. He shot up and made his way to Yeonjun. He lifted him up, carried him over to their timeout corner, and sat him down onto his bottom. 

“Do not tell me no!” Seokjin couldn’t believe that came out of his mouth the instant it did. Yeonjun _screamed,_ tears falling thick and heavy down his cheeks. Feet pounded down the stairs, and Seokjin didn’t even have to turn to know that he had woken Jeongguk with his outburst.

“Hyung, go upstairs. Take a minute. I’ll handle this,” Jeongguk said, and Seokjin was so mad at himself that he had started crying long before he took the first step up to his room. 

He threw himself onto his bed and just sobbed. He thought despairingly of the terrified look on Yeonjun’s face, the absolute _heartbreak_ that couldn’t be hidden. Seokjin was supposed to be the one person in the entire world that Yeonjun could trust to not overreact, and there he went and fucked it up. Yeonjun would _never_ trust him again after this. 

Seokjin cried himself dry and laid in bed, staring unseeingly at the wall. While the floor below had been raucous before, now it was eerily silent save for Yeonjun’s wailing. Taehyun, Beomgyu, and Soobin were all being suspiciously quiet. With curiosity needing to be sated, Seokjin lifted himself up and made his way to the stairwell.

He stepped down only enough stairs to see into the hallway leading to their living room, and what he saw had his own tears falling again. Jeongguk was holding Yeonjun to him with his eyes closed, arms wrapped so tight around him; it was as if he were protecting the small boy from something. Yeonjun had his hand in his mouth as he cried, his head hitching to the side with every struggled inhale.

What had he _done?_

To make matters even worse, Soobin was rubbing Yeonjun’s back worriedly. His little face was drawn, and lip puckered out, and every once in awhile, he would look to Jeongguk as if asking if everything was going to be okay. Beomgyu and Taehyun, despite being young and usually not socially aware of anyone except each other, were peering around the corner as if wondering what to do.

“Hyung is sad?” Soobin asked, and Jeongguk smiled dismally. 

“Yeah, Binnie. Hyung is sad,” Jeongguk answered, pressing a hard kiss to Yeonjun’s head. 

“Why?” Taehyun spoke up. Seokjin startled a little. While he had heard that word plenty out of Beomgyu’s mouth, he had never really heard more than _mine_ out of Taehyun’s. 

“He feels lonely. We need to give hyung lots and lots of hugs, okay?” Jeongguk said. Beomgyu and Taehyun both smiled wide and ran, plopping on top of Yeonjun. At first, Yeonjun whined and batted at the toddlers, but after Jeongguk explained that they were trying to make him happy, the self-sacrificing part of Yeonjun clicked into place again, and he allowed them to hang on him. 

“Can I have breakfast?” Yeonjun sniffled, and Seokjin slammed down onto the stairs. Yeonjun hadn’t disappeared; he’d never _been_ there. They hadn’t woken Yeonjun for breakfast. What the _fuck_ was wrong with him? 

“Of course, Yeonjun. Uncle will make you breakfast,” Jeongguk said, gently guiding the boys off of him and Yeonjun so he could stand. 

“I want daddy to make me breakfast,” Yeonjun looked like he was going to start crying again, so Seokjin took the remaining stairs down. He didn’t try to hide his tears. Maybe it was penance for all that he’d done wrong when raising his kids that he was forced to show how weak he really was around them. 

“Daddy will make you breakfast, Junnie,” Seokjin said, and Yeonjun ran over and took his hand. It felt a little like the world had started to turn again, but it wasn’t enough to stop the tears from flowing. All the times he promised he would fix this, and he just let it go, and go, and go, until all that was left was this exact scenario. One where Yeonjun finally didn’t want to be the hyung anymore, no matter how much Seokjin relied on him. 

Seokjin needed to stop relying on his five-year-old to fix all of his problems. He didn’t adopt Yeonjun for him to play babysitter. 

Once Yeonjun was settled at the table with microwavable pancakes and strawberries, Seokjin settled down into a chair and just stared at his baby. Yeonjun may not have been his first, but that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of it all. Yeonjun was his second in command, the only one he could have conversations with, the one he could play sports with, the one he took to ice hockey every week. 

Maybe that was the problem. Yeonjun hadn’t been adopted by Seokjin until he was already almost potty trained and speaking full sentences. He didn’t need to be fed, or rocked to sleep, or taught his ABCs. Yeonjun was the first child he’d ever held that already felt too heavy to be in his arms, and his brain thought that he must be older than he really was. 

At the end of the day, Seokjin forgot that Yeonjun was a baby. His baby. No matter how long he could go on about Pororo in detail, no matter how easily he could write his name, whether or not he could color inside the lines. 

Yeonjun ate so well by himself. He used his fork, and he wiped the strawberry juice off his face with a napkin. It hurt Seokjin when he remembered why Yeonjun was so well behaved. He had come to him bruised and broken, already putting dishes in the sink and crying when Seokjin saw that his bed had not been made. 

“Junnie,” Seokjin whispered, running a soft hand through Yeonjun’s long hair. It was almost to the point he could tie it up in a bun if he wanted. 

“Yes, daddy?” Yeonjun responded, so formal and unbefitting of a child his age. All Seokjin wanted to hear was a grumbled _hmm?_ Through a mouthful of food. Just once in Yeonjun’s childhood, Seokjin wanted him to act his age. 

“Today, when I asked you to help Soobin, did that make you sad?” Seokjin prompted, and Yeonjun took another bite of his strawberries instead of answering immediately. Once he was finished chewing, he put his fork down and turned to Seokjin.

“No,” Yeonjun said. Seokjin was surprised by this, but he didn’t give up.

“Were you angry?” Seokjin asked.

“No.”

“Were you frustrated?” This seemed to hit the mark. Yeonjun wiggled in his seat and looked away from him. “Jun, it’s okay to feel frustrated. I should have listened to you. The way that you feel is very, very important to me, okay? I want you to be happy.”

“But sometimes we have to do things that frustrate us,” Yeonjun said in his tiny voice, wrought with insignificant little errors like changing an r to a w that made the whole thing sound somehow more upsetting. 

“Yes, but if you feel frustrated because you think daddy pays more attention to your brothers than you, then you don’t have to do it. If you want daddy to love you, or make you feel better, or if you want daddy to handle the babies, then that’s okay,” Seokjin said. “I understand why you were frustrated. I am sorry.”

“I want you to make me feel better, too,” Yeonjun said, and Seokjin nodded to show that he was listening. “I want you to cuddle me like Uncle Jeongguk.”

“Then I will cuddle you like Uncle Jeongguk. Every single day,” Seokjin promised. 

“Forever?” Yeonjun asked, and Seokjin nodded. “Right now?”

“Right now,” Seokjin pulled Yeonjun into his arms, and the strength with which Yeonjun held him made more tears spring in his eyes. This little baby was growing up way too fast. There was no point in making it go any quicker. 

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meltediceangel (helps pay for medical school)
> 
> Yeonjun gets daddy and Yeonjun time, and Seokjin seriously stops asking Yeonjun to do everything when he feels stressed, with the occasional slip up. 
> 
> This is going to be one of those series of one-shots thing, so PLEASE send requests! Who would you like to see next, when, what scenario, etc.? I love taking requests for things like these. I'll go all the way from 0-18, since I'm a bit out of my element passed that age. 
> 
> Also, someone told me once to make a series of one-shots complete and then just continue to update it. Have any of you ever read stories like this? Do you think it would be better to leave it as incomplete or put it as complete from the get-go?
> 
> I'll try to leave it as complete for now, and if people get upset then I'll change it to incomplete!


End file.
